Tag Archives: transgender

For the fifth year in a row I have attended Gay Pride with my dear friend, Milton. This celebration in lower Manhattan is the largest Gay Pride event in the country, and probably the world. Together, he and I photograph the march to share it with the Lame Adventures audience. Each year, Pride seems to have more corporate sponsors vying for the LGBT dollar, more politicians attending, signifying the value of the LGBT vote, and an ever growing crowd of marchers participating, many dressed in ordinary street clothes anemically waving a rainbow flag. Milton misses the old days when the majority of the participants were flamboyant. He has concluded that with more and more states allowing same sex marriage:

Milton: We’ve become as boring as everyone else.

Have we?

Glam Dyke on Bike at parade’s start.

Dyke on Bike getting spray misted by Tiny Tim lookalike.

Obviously, three nipples and one pink flamingo.

Eagle Scout: the Boy Scouts had quite a presence in this year’s festivities.

Angel in America.

Bert and Ernie marching hand in hand.

New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio marching with his daughter, Chiara.

Sunday was the annual Gay Pride march in Manhattan. Milton and I attended with cameras in tow. It was an exuberant celebration on the heels of the Supreme Court’s recent decision overturning the Domestic Marriage Act as well as clearing the way for same sex couples to resume having the right to wed in California. The victorious DOMA plaintiff, 84-year-old Edie Windsor, was one of the parade’s three grand marshals. Seeing her was quite a high.

This is also a mayoral election year in New York City. Christine Quinn, the openly lesbian Speaker of the New York City Council, is a mayoral candidate who has recently received Edie’s endorsement. Quinn is leading in the polls today, but former Congressman Anthony Weiner is gaining on her and possibly Public Advocate Bill de Blasio has an outside chance, too. It’s a long way between June and November.

Aside from politicians avidly courting the LGBT voter, the parade was also heavy with product placement in hot pursuit of the LGBT dollar. Big corporations that participated include Delta Airlines, AT&T, Citibank and Coca Cola. Macy’s, Whole Foods and Kiehls had a strong presence, too. Vitamin Water had some poor schmuck or schmuck-ette dressed like a bottle of water march in the steam heat. Overall, the parade was primarily about LGBT people compelled to cheer their recent victories, strut their stuff and feel good about whom they are.

On a personal note, I am very pleased to announce that I experienced my own triumph this year. I did not suffer any further hearing loss, step in any fetid puddles or deep fry any body part, all mishaps I have suffered in past years while covering this annual event with Milton for Lame Adventures. Naturally, I half-expected to find myself swallowed by the sidewalk, but that didn’t happen, either. Therefore, I’ll let the pictures we shot tell the rest of the story.

Milton and I celebrated gay pride New York City-style this weekend by watching the LGBT Pride March from the sidelines on lower Fifth Avenue near West 16th Street. As we played dueling digital cameras in the humid heat, we did not complain for it did not rain on our parade, something I feared might happen. We also kept ourselves well hydrated. I had my 20-ounce bottle of water and Milton guzzled an entire Poland Spring water truck personally before we shared a liter of refreshing mango (not served by Chris Kattan) sangria over dinner afterward.

The parade itself was an uplifting event. Marriage, family, religious acceptance and equality were key themes. We noticed many members of organized faiths marching. In the forty years that this event has been taking place, it’s very moving to see the progress that has been made. Milton and I both got lumps in our throats when we saw the contingency from the New York Police Department in their dress blues march past. Forty-one years ago when the Stonewall riots ignited in Greenwich Village, the police bashed the patrons to the point of inciting revolt. That was the pivotal event that started the pride movement that continues today, but who would have ever anticipated that a battalion of out gay and lesbian cops would march proudly in such a parade? And they were followed by the out gay and lesbian firefighters. What’s next out and proud Catholic priests and nuns? Oops, better not go there.

The person standing next to me, an individual of indeterminate gender who I thought was female, but Milton swore he saw an Adam’s apple, doubled as a human vuvuzela forever blowing a piercing whistle to entice marchers to come her way. Standing along side this exuberantly demonstrative parade-goer for three hours and forty-five minutes was a bit taxing for both of us. The limited hearing in my impaired right ear is undoubtedly further decreased, but I pointed out to Milton that “Blow Tart” (our name for this person) was not the worst person in the world. It was not like we were stuck standing next to Osama bin Laden and his dialysis machine. Afterward, I asked Milton what he thought someone like Blow Tart did for a living. He suggested in a droll tone, “Annoy people. She’s great at her job.”

Posted below are some of our photographs and because we’re devils, a little video we shot of Blow Tart that we posted on YouTube. This better illustrates why Milton’s knee-jerk response is “idiot” every time I mention this person. Overall, it was a lovely parade, and we did have a great time.